CO
by Atheniandream
Summary: Previously posted on Tumblr. Beta'd and tweaked. MIKE POV. 'And Mike notices, from time to time, the revealing of such a holy grail.'


_Notes: Thought I'd tweak this s little and put it on my page!_

_OXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX_

**C.O. By Atheniandream**

Harvey and Donna's relationship has become…_strained_, of late.

She's dating.

_He's_ dating.

They're…dating…_other_ people.

And that in and of itself is an anomaly.

It's not often that they're both focused on other people.

Usually Donna is focused on Harvey, and Harvey is focused on…_Harvey, _And everything wraps itself in a pretty yellow bow of contention waiting to implode.

Everything is fluid and practised and somehow designed to work as it should. Work. Meetings. Schedules. Coffee. Scotch.

Working late. _More_ Scotch. Sometimes shitty Thai food if Donna's lucky and Harvey's generous .

But it's always controlled with them. Measured. Not too much…

However,

_The Can Opener,_

The silently sacred object of a very hidden agenda_ still_ lurks between them, despite their ever changing situations.

And Mike notices, from time to time, the revealing of such a holy grail.

Trouble is,

_He's not allowed to tell._

Not even to Rachel.

And since_ that day_ in the elevator, orange liquid filled and brain addled at the hands of a coffee cart guy; Mike had sworn to Harvey, backwards, forwards and sideways that he would never again utter nor dare repeat what he and Donna do with the Can Opener.

_He_ knows. And yet their secret is more sacred than his own one.

And _it's_ moved place since she came back. (_Especially since Howard used it for his tunafish conundrum, the finest of faux pahs_)

And these days, they don't _only_ use it for pre-trial.

_Every day to them is like a trial_, he wagers.

The offending item is currently stashed, to his knowledge, _in the file room. _

_The evidence lies on the wall. Little dotted marks in various shapes and patterns…_

He suspects it's located _specifically_ where a certain fake memo once resided. Like a mantle of their trying times apart. A cautionary tale to live strangely by. It's so very them in the most stereotypical way…

Now, the only indication he has.._.is a look between them_.

It's small,

But it's a very specific look.

He watches Harvey, a tension in his face as he sits at his desk, a twist in his grimace almost to a smile, as he hitches up one pant leg with his right hand.

He continues to watch, through several glass walls as his older counterpart, bends forward - though not really needing to - his lips directed towards the Intercom stationed at his desk, and says one, very personally important word.

"**_Donna_**," He watches the man annunciate. He's 100% sure of it.

And like lightning before the thunder she's already in his office, ready and waiting for his request.

Until she double takes his stance. The look in his eyes.

_His tie._..

Now, most people don't know about the tie.

You know.

I know.

_Mike knows._

But everybody else is still out of the loop.

**_-Let it be known that Louis does not and IS not allowed to know under any circumstances…-_**

He watches her eyes squint, calculating the information, before she mouths 'Five minutes'; her hand outstretched to gesture the fact as she glides out of the room, pressing a button on the phone at her desk; most likely to transfer all future calls to the answer phone.

He continues to observe as Harvey sits for a moment; stretching out the length of his silky tie before picking up his cardboard cup; Starbucks and 'Boss' plastered on the side and drinks it's entirity, before starting to stand. A swagger in his shoulders as he follows in her direction.

He's been dying to get a peak of them in action. Ever since Harvey let him in the loop two years ago.

Because,

It's not so much 'what' they do with it as to 'how' they do it.

How Harvey always comes out looking…flustered.

And it's hard to make a man like Harvey flustered without doing the thing he knows they're _not_ doing.

So he counts his watch, for an immesurably long time, before walking along to his Boss's office.

They're always gone for Eight minutes_ and_…twenty seven…twenty eight…twenty nine…**thirty seconds**.

"Hey Harvey!" He calls, catching his Boss at the pass.

"Mike." He says, his eyebrows raising. "What's going on?" He asks, playing on casual.

He observes his friend; tie askew; face a little flush._ Some hint of pink on the cheeks…_

"You uh," Mike plays, looking at Harvey with a finger pointed and a pointed frown. "You look a little red. You okay? Still taking those heart pills?" He jokes, watching his Boss cover his own expression.

"Funny." His counterpart says. "Don't lose the pretend day job," Harvey quips snarkily, stalking into his office with a frown.

It's only then that Donna sidles up to him in the man's place; a self-satisfied smirk on her lips as she leans against her own desk.

"You tire him out?" He innocently asks her, savouring the moment for all it's worth.

Her face goes from smug to mortified in half a second. She covers the expression in half that time.

"**_When_**?" She asks, the stiff demand in her voice.

"Mock trial." He answers simply, watching her face.

"Hmmm." She says, a pause on her face before she asks. "You know we don't…actually do…_that_…right?" She explains, looking to him shrewdly.

"Yeah….then? Sure. Now?_ Not so sure_…" He says, laying the bait.

"Oh, shut up." She snaps, gliding past him.


End file.
